STATE HOUSE – Rep. Gregg Amore (D-Dist. 65, East Providence) will be introducing two pieces of legislation aimed at preventing violence in Rhode Island’s schools in the wake of the tragic events in Florida.

“Simply put, too many of our children are dying in our schools. And while the debate over access to guns continues to wage on a national level, these two bills will protect our children while we fight for a solution to our national gun violence epidemic,” said Representative Amore.

The first bill would require that all Rhode Island public schools have a school resource officer on the premises. If a school has over 1,200 students, two school resource officers would need to be present.

“This bill is necessary because some of our schools already have a resource officer, but, others do not. Having a trained police officer in our schools is the first line of defense in stopping a potentially deadly and tragic situation from unfolding in Rhode Island’s schools,” added Representative Amore.

The second bill would appropriate additional state school and housing reimbursement for renovation and construction in schools that follows national school security best practices.

“The amount of upgrades and new school construction that is needed in our state is no secret. But, along with making our schools into acceptable teaching facilities for our students, we cannot ignore security updates that will protect our kids from acts of violence as well. Our schools need to be safe, dry, healthy, and most importantly, secure, and this bill will accomplish that,” concluded Representative Amore.